Donald Trump Court File Shows He Owes E. Jean Carroll $83 Million

Donald Trump has been ordered to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in compensation and damages after a New York jury on Friday found that he had defamed her again in a second civil case.

In an earlier case, a separate jury concluded that Trump had sexually abused Carroll in a Manhattan department store during the 1990s, then defamed her character when she went public with the accusation. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages, but the former president described the verdict as part of “the greatest witch hunt of all time.” Trump continued to criticize Carroll publicly, after which the New York writer launched a second defamation case initially seeking an additional $10 million.

On Friday, Trump was instructed to pay Carroll an additional $18.3 million in compensation along, with $65 million in punitive damages. Reacting to the judgment on X, formerly Twitter, Carroll shared a New York Times article about her victory and wrote: “ELATION!!!!”

Trump expressed his anger at the court’s decision on his Truth Social website, posting: “Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party.” He added: “Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”

The full court judgement can be read below:

The two-page court judgment shows that the jury concluded Carroll “suffered more than nominal damages” from defamatory statements Trump made on June 21 to 22, 2019. The jury awarded $11 million “for the reputation repair program only” and an additional $7.3 million in damages “other than for the reputation repair program.”

The jury also found that when making his comments Trump “acted maliciously, out of hatred, ill will, or spite, vindictively, or in wanton, reckless, or willful disregard for of Ms. Carroll’s rights,” for which he was ordered to pay $65 million in punitive damages.

Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney, was asked whether she had “second thoughts about representing” the former president as she left the courthouse.

Habba said: “No. No. I’m glad you asked me that question. No, I’m not having any second thoughts about representing President Trump. It is the proudest thing I could ever do.

“I have not spoken because I respect my ethics while I’m on trial,” Habba added. “But let me now speak now about what has happened. I have sat on trial after trial for months in this state, the State of New York, Attorney General Letitia James and now this. Why? Because President Trump is leading in the polls and now we see what you get in New York.”

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan clashed repeatedly with Habba during the trial, at one point threatening to send her to jail if she didn’t sit down.

Trump could be banned for life from the New York retail-estate industry after a judge concluded he engaged in fraud by exaggerating the value of his assets to secure more favorable bank loans and tax arrangements. He strongly denies any wrongdoing.

The 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner is also facing charges in four separate cases over allegations he orchestrated the payment of hush money to a pornographic actress; mishandled classified documents; and broke the law attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result, both nationwide and in the state of Georgia specifically. He has pled not guilty to all counts and insists the cases against him are politically motivated.